Business

New home sales fell last month to the lowest level in almost seven years, the Commerce Department reported Monday.

Average U.S. retail gasoline prices rose 5.6 cents in the past two weeks to about $2.61 a gallon, according to the latest Lundberg Survey of filling stations released Sunday.

Ethanol and biodiesel production is expected to surge in the next few years as government officials in Europe and the United States set higher targets for consumption and maintain subsidies for producers, a panel of experts predicted at a forum on biofuel policies and trade organized by the German Marshall Fund of the United States.

Paccar Inc., the parent of Kenworth Truck Co., will temporarily shut down production at Kenworth’s Chillicothe, Ohio, plant, the Chillicothe Gazette reported.

Truckload carriers Western Express and Smithway Motor Xpress Corp. said Friday that Western would acquire Smithway for $10.63 per share, in a deal worth about $90 million.

The Senate Appropriations Committee Thursday approved an amendment that would prevent Mexican trucking companies from gaining unrestricted access to U.S. highways until American truckers are afforded the same access in Mexico.

Existing home sales rose 3.9% in February, the most in three years, the National Association of Realtors said Friday.

LAS VEGAS — Qualcomm Inc., GE Trailer Fleet Services and Sky-Bitz, three of the largest providers of trailer-tracking technology, each announced new customers and product expansions and enhancements here last week.